First steps to work with Change Request Management scenario in Solution Manager 7.1

NEWS: Content of this SCN doc will be maintained now in wiki page https://wiki.scn.sap.com/wiki/x/GoqrGg

With the following steps you will be able to create a test landscape to practice with the Change Request Management ChaRM scenario in Solution Manager 7.1 without creating interferences with real TMS landscapes.

Also I will try to give tips and tricks for the common mistakes in the configuration of this scenario.

The configurations given are valid for Solution Manager 7.1.

Configurations on Managed Systems

1- Create the test landscape in TMS

Usually you would like to use ChaRM to manage the changes in this kind of system landscapes:

DEV:100 -> QUA:200 -> PRD:300

The test landscape that I am proposing is this one: your Solution Manager is installed in system SMM for example, and you are configuring client 001 for being used as ChaRM client, them SMM:001 is your ChaRM client.

Create three additional clients in SMM, like local client copy from client 000 with SAP_ALL profile (this will need some extra space in SMM system, but not too much), let say you create clients 100, 200 and 300.

We assume that SMM:100 is going to be the Development system, SMM:200 the Quality system and SMM:300 is the Production system.

In SCC4 assign the following client settings, roles, etc. to these clients.

Customizing role for SMM client 100, Test role for SMM:200 and Production role for SMM:300.

The indications given for this test case from now on also apply to for your real TMS landscape, to DEV, QUA and PRD system.

Create the logical systems in the managed systems, in transaction SALE -> Basic Settings ->Logic System -> Define Logical System & Assign Logical System to Client -> Save

2- Configuration of TMS for this scenario according to ChaRM prerequisites
Key points

Transports are supported in the standard transport layer of each client. When you configure transport routes, note that only consolidation routes that are assign the standard transport layer of the relevant exporting client are taken into consideration.

For each exporting client, exactly one target client and one target group are permitted.

We recommend that you assign exactly one development system to a production system, and that these two systems are connected by exactly one unique transport track.

If a development system and a production system are connected by more than one transport track, this may lead to inconsistencies within the transport distribution. This type of transport configuration cannot be supported by Change Request Management, and may cause inconsistencies within the tools involved.
In Solution Manager, in client 000, call STMS (the TMS configuration should be done in the domain controller system of your real TMS managed landscape). In our example, SMM is the only system and so it is the domain controller.

Configure transport routes and transport strategy

Note: SMM client 001 does not need to take part of your TMS landscape.

Select Transport Routes icon:

For this test landscape initially you have system SMM and none transport route defined (for a real landscape you will have the three system boxes DEV, QUA and PRD and the transport routes already defined). Make double-click on system SMM and fill the following values (or in the box of the development
system).

In System Attributes tab: the use of Single transport is a prerequisite for ChaRM for all the systems in the landscape:

Note: These is a prerequisite for using the ChaRM scenario:

• Deactivate the quality assurance approval procedure
• Activate the single transports strategy

Because ChaRM has its own approval procedure, the existing quality assurance approval procedure isn’t needed in TMS. Also, activating the single transports strategy will ensure that the Import All option can’t be executed in the TMS.

In Standard Transport Layer tab: ensure you enter the client 100, (client with customizing role for the development box)), you need to configure client-specific transport layer settings for development systems:

Note: Enter the development client number and the transport layer which should be used in ChaRM.
If you have more than one development systems/clients, please make sure for all of the transport layer settings are configured correctly here, otherwise ChaRM may not be able to calculate the transport tracks based on your STMS configurations

Consolidation routes:

Create the consolidation transport routes to SMM:200, transport route must be CLIENT SPECIFIC for the use in ChaRM scenario, this is real important!

From development system to quality system you need at least two consolidation routes, SAP and ZXXX.

Go with the pencil from the system SMM to system SMM and get this pop-up:

I create the consolidation route for transport layer SAP and I do the same to create transport route for transport layer ZSMM (for customer developments).

In case of a real landscape you need to choose from which system and CLIENT to which system and CLIENT, use button Extended Transport Control (F6) to see the client field if you choose create the transport route from Edit->Transport route -> Create option.

Note: You should know that in SAP Solution Manager 7.1 we no longer support “SAP” transport layer, for more information please refer to SAP note 1401611.
Delivery routes:

I make the same to create the Delivery transport route from SMM:200 to SMM:300, delivery routes are always from quality to production systems.

Finally you will get the following situation:

Save and distribute the changes:

Note:

All the previous work has to be done in the domain controller systems in real TMS managed landscapes.

The following TMS parameters are required for all systems in the managed landscape:

CTC  1 (Extended Transport Control activated)

IMPORT_SINGLE_ONLY 1

IMPORT_SINGLE_STRATEGY 1

NO_IMPORT_ALL 1

WORKFLOW_STRATEGY 0
Note: CTC must be set to 1 for single ABAP stack systems and dual stack systems; for standalone non-ABAP systems CTC should be set to 0.

Preparations on SAP Solution Manager System
1. Review of the main configuration points in Solman system

Before using ChaRM scenario please ensure that you have run in solman_setup the indicated activities.

Especially important points are:

– Sol. Mgr. Central Correction Note is implemented

– Piece List is activated

– LMDB is configured and Ibase components/IObject have been created for the managed systems

– Check Background Jobs: a job for report /TMWFLOW/CMSSYSCOL2 should be running, this job is used to fetch transport data from managed systems.

– Implement ChaRM master note relevant for your system patch level

– Activate ChaRM relevant services

– Set Client for Change Request Management: Please notice that ChaRM can only be configured in one client per Solman system

– Add Contact Person to Business Partners

-Check and Correct Number Ranges

– Copy ChaRM transaction types SMCR, SMMJ, SMHF using copy report

– Create Users and Business Partners, all users working in ChaRM scenario need to have a BP linked to them with employee and contact person role

– Maintain transaction types

– Create ChaRM Template: Users for the different ChaRM roles, admisnitrator, change manager, developer..
2. Check RFC Destinations for managed systems in LMDB
As of SAP Solution Manager 7.1, you can use a new import strategy called Harmonizing RFC communication infrastructure, see note 1384598. It has the following advantages:

• No named dialog user needed in client 000 is required
• For imports into the managed system, the RFC destinations created within the managed system configuration are used

If the harmonizing RFC communication infrastructure is not used still you will need to activate TMS Trusted Services and created domain links between the solman and the managed landscape domain controllers, see my KBA 1908411Harmonizing RFC communication infrastructure: how it works.
Change Request Management requires a READ, TMW and TRUSTED RFC to every Managed System/Client.
In order to ensure that Change Request Management works perfectly with Managed Systems a minimum SP Level is required. Please check SAP Note 907768 for further details.
Don´t forget that if harmonizing RFCcommunication infrastructure is in used you don´t need to create a RFC destination to client 000 of the managed systems as before, only to the system:clients entered in the logical component used for your ChaRM project.

Note: For technical reasons for solution manager 7.1 SP08 or lower versions we still require SAP Solution Manager RFC destinations into client 000 of the domain controllers of all linked TMS transport domains, see note 1384598.
In LMDB, in Technical system tab select the system and for Destination entry select RFC Maintenance, here you need to select the client and then create the required RFC connections from the Solman to the managed systems.

For this test scenario you need to select SMM clients 100, 200 and 300 and created the RFC destinations:

Note: Ensure that under RFC for SAP Solution Manager you can see the SM_SIDCLIENTXXX_TRUSTED entered and not the SM_*_LOGIN RFC, this is
really important to avoid further issues.

If you already have a LOGIN connection here then update the trusted connection by selecting option”update XXXX_TRUSTED” from the drop down list of “Trusted System RFC Destination” and click on “Execute”.

For a real managed landscape you need to select for example DEV:100, QUA:200 and PRD:300 system,

Later in transaction SMSY you will see:

3. Create a logical component

 
You need to create a logical component, one or several, that contains the systems of the real managed landscape, enter in the logical component only the systems that you want to control via ChaRM, it is not required that you create a logical component that contains all the systems in transport routes of the managed landscape.

Logical component can be regarded as a projection of managed system infrastructure into SAP Solution Manager system, so it must represent the real landscape and the system roles should be consistent to their real roles in business scenarios the logical component shows different categories, Development system, Quality System, etc.
Each category, column name, is linked to a type of system role such as source system, target system, production system, etc..

Click on System Roles:

If you are going to customize the categories and add new categories by yourself, please make sure the Type of Role must be consistent to your system role. That is, for development system, the Type of Role should be Source Systems; for test systems, the Type of Role should be Target Systems; forproduction system, the Type of Role should also be Production Systems.
You can also see the Type of role assignment in solar_project_admin, select the project and go to System Landscape tab, System tab, there you will need to
enter the logical component click in System role assignment button and then in System roles.
Details in 1484964 – ChaRM: incorrect systems are checked in /TMWFLOW/CHARMCHK
Note: Change Request Management requires at least two systems in the logical component, one as source system and one under category production system.

Depending on the patch level of the Solman 7.1 you need to create the logical component in SMSY (System Groups and Logical Components, Logical components ->Right click on Logical Components -> Create New Logical Components -> Enter name and product information) or in LMDB (select the Logical component tab).

You need to put the relevant systems into their corresponding system roles, ensure that the system entered fits with the real TMS landscape that you have.

I mean ensure that there are consolidation routes defined from the source system to the first target system and delivery routes created between target systems and from the last target system to production system.

This will be check during the task list creation, if the systems entered in the logical component are not consistent with the real TMS landscape ChaRM could not be activated for the project and you will receive the usual errors:

• No exporting system for system
• No consolidation system found for

4. In Solution Manager go to transaction SOLAR_PROJECT_ADMIN
Decide if your project is an implementation or a Maintenance project. For our test case select a maintenance
project.

Create

Enter Description and Project language and save

Yes.

In System Landscape Tab:

– Systems: here you have to enter your logical component

Select the product of the managed lanscape and select the logical component previously created. Save.

You can have a minimum of two systems, source and production systems, for ChaRM scenario but you can have for example 5 systems with different roles in your real landscape.

Note: until four system landscape is supported in the ChaRM standard scenario, if you have more systems you will need to define some additional status, actions…This is not supported in standard.
In our test case you will have this:

Once again, always use here a logical component that fits with the real TMS managed landscape, if not the ChaRM scenario could no be activated. This point is always the point that more problems gives in the activation of ChaRM scenario!!!

ChaRM expects to see consolidation routes from source to target systems, delivery routes between target systems and from the last target system to production system.
– In IMG Projects tab: create always a IMG project in the development system ONLY! You need to define this IMG project in the development system in order to assign to this IMG-CTS project all transport orders that you are going to be created via a Change document in the solman system, this is a prerequisite for ChaRM scenario!
Don’t define IMG projects in other roles, systems, different to the development system.

Select the line and click on first create icon.

Always select `No, later´

Yes: This popup appears if you are creating the IMG project in this particular test scenario, in the same system where ChaRM project is created, select another name for the IMG project:

IMG project is created in SMM:100

Go to Transport Requests tab, here you will see that for an ABAP landscape a CTS project is also created and activated:

Note: use /nspro_admin to see the IMG-CTS projects created in the development managed systems
Click back and go to Change Management tab and activate Change Request Management for your project, select the flag:

Note: for activating ChaRM the user doing this action needs to have a BP with employee and contact person role.

Now run a Check, you cannot run a project check before setting the flag in the Activate Change Request Management.

If you perform a ChaRM check for a correctly activated ChaRM project, you should see all lights are green. Now you can create the task list for the project.

Select Create Task List

Select the name of your Maintenance Cycle

Task list and maintenance cycle document are created.

Click on Show Project Change Cycle, this will open the SMMN document 8000002401 in sm_crm, ensure that the phase is In Development w/o Release, if not move from Created to this phase.

Click in Show Task List for opening task list M*323 in /nSCMA, unlock the project track groups.

Project is ready for working.
You can start the creation of request for change and change documents.